Midnight affairs
by aotpineapples
Summary: Jasmine Ito rose to CEO status of her family's cooperation. The stress has her seek sexual relief in the form of an old acquaintance. As their seperate worlds of black and white lines bleed into a gray tones. Restarting a game they forgot how to play.


The party was hosted in one of the many Ito estates, a staggering five-story house. It was one of the least favorite vacation homes they had in Beverly Hills. Jasmine found the house to be glitzy, her family preferred the more traditional temple-like hand rails were golden, the sinks silver, and the water came directly from a hot spring. This place was just begging to be robbed. The perfect place to host this party. The group of servers were carrying caviar, truffles, macaroons, and fifteen other finger foods.

Jasmine was smiling, conversing and wading through the crowd with ease fitting in immediately and always leaving smoothly. Her heart was beating rapidly from the adrenaline rush of this almost surreal experience, and her head was cocked even higher than ever before. A business woman, successor, and winner of the competition her parents didn't know they set up-Jasmine had it all. Hana, her mother, had tried for years to have a son. To take over the business after her husband retired. Hana had succeeded, but little Haru was only five at the moment and far too young to take over the business.

"Miss Ito, I deeply apologize for your loss. I, however, think you should use this tragedy to make your company greater than ever by signing with the Smithly Company," a pepper-haired man said as he slipped down one of the finger dishes.

"I'll consider it. Thank you for your arrival and continued interest in the Ito company," Jasmine replied.

Another man with brown hair approached her almost immediately. He practically shoved his hand into her own and shook it fiercely. Jasmine had the displeasure of noting how obviously nervous he was. His hands were clammy, moist and quivering.

"Thank you for the -for the in-invite. Ahhh, my deepest apologies for the loss of your, your, your, your, your-" he stammered out.

Seeing that he clearly didn't even know who died, Jasmine saved him the embarrassment and her time by finishing the sentence.

"Thank you for the regards for my late father. Please enjoy the catering around you," Jasmine said briskly .

She turned her back to the man and noted how he looked as if he wanted to cry. His eyes puffed and his nose was starting to get redder. He clearly didn't get his business pitched the way he wanted. His presentation was unsatisfactory at best and pitiful at worse. He was no doubt young money .

About two seconds later, a woman this time approached her. She had a tight blond bun with a face that looked manufactured, to put it nicely.

"Good evening, my name is Kennedy Price. I would like to ask if you'd be interested in

donating to the Osre Charity. One hundred percent of the proceeds go towards various people in need around the world. My husband and I have a passion for helping poor souls in need. Unfortunately, we can't save the world alone. Believe me when I say we try. We put in so much of our own resources that we barely can afford the clothes on our backs. You can trust your donations with an honest, genuine, and loving charity like ours. It's wise to donate. It makes a business woman like yourself appear wonderful to the press," Blondie said

Jasmine resisted the urge to snort .There was nothing that woman would ever possess that was genuine. She knew for a fact that organization was pocketing large sums of money, which was the main reason why her father never donated to woman was wearing balenciaga, gucci, and at least a few carats of diamonds were around her neck.

"It would be an honour to donate. I'll be sure to send a grand some once tax season comes around," Jasmine said as she rushed to leave

The high she was getting from the new power she had received began to run low. Person after person came up spouting about new deals, investments, charities, you name it. All while asking for the same thing. Money. Jasmine's head started to pound, and her charming polite replies went from unbridled enthusiasm to drone-like responses. Hours after hours in shoes that pinched her feet made her want to rush things along so she could leave. Her hair was pulled up into a tight elaborate braid, that had far too many pins that practically gave her a face-lift, and the professionally done hairdo was giving her a massive headache.

Just as she was about to leave, she saw one of the many money sucking bandits (as she liked to call them) standing in her path. Stopping her getaway, she turned towards them and waited for the vandal to say their lines.

"Congratulations, successor of all Ito Corporations. That's a very impressive feat. What a sad way to embrace such an accomplishment while grieving for a loved one," a young handsome man said as he extended his hand outwards and waited for Jasmine to shake it.

He looked familiar. Jasmine never forgot a face but, where could she have ever met him? Jasmine gazed up and down, taking in every aspect of his outfit. No badges or any insignia, so he wasn't in the military. His suit wasn't particularly gawdy so he wasn't one of those flamboyant fashionistas. His hair. Red. It wasn't dyed. It was obvious when hair was dyed. No matter how well done, a trained eye could detect it. Such vibrant red hair on a Japanese man could only belong to one and one only. Her eyes shone in amusement; however, she never let any of her giddiness peak through her sombered neutral mask. It simply wasn't becoming of a lady of Jasmine's status to be emotional.

"It's been a shock to us all. My father should have been able to steadily lead the company for about a good fifteen years. He passed away so suddenly, and I took it upon myself to make sure everything he worked for wasn't lost."

"Death is always unexpected; however, it overtakes us all at one point, Miss 's unfortunate that we have to meet again under these circumstances."

"I'm pleased you found the time to grieve and celebrate with us, Shuichi Minamino. How time flies. It's been too long since I have had the pleasure to be in your company. Please drop the unneeded formalities. Why so formal when you were my knight in shining armour coming in with coffee and a perfect study guide in college?" Jasmine said pleasantly since she was confident in that it was in fact Shuichi.

She reached out to take his offered hand; she shook it for a second longer than what would be considered polite, almost as if her sense of time had went out of the window. Jasmine felt the scrape of his palm against her ridges and strange calluses that she was heavily acquainted with, the memories of an old lover's touch. They remained shaking hands for over a minute, until Jasmine became aware again of time. Jasmine slowly removed her hand from his own and placed her hand back by her side.

"I've been debating whether or not to move to the US for the time being, seeing that the Ito Company has been having some interesting developments here for the past few years. How about yourself? Have you become American as apple pie, as they say, or are you just a visitor?"

"I'm not sure if I would go as far as that, but I'm staying for the duration of the film I'm part of."

Shuichi? An actor? Her mouth suddenly went dry. Hopefully he had decided to star in an explicit film. That would be quite the show considering his...talents.

"Are you acting in this upcoming movie by any chance? If so, I must go see it."

"Oh, no. I don't really like working in front of cameras, as you know. I'm a screenwriter, among other things."

His eyes were twinkling with mischief, and Jasmine winked because she most certainly knew the meaning behind his words. He was far from easy to read, but she noticed the hint of a smirk and the occasional flash of his pearly whites.

"How convenient, I've been looking for more media based advertisements. How about a small indiscreet ad in the movie? Stop by so we can properly discuss the deal."

"What time should I stop by?"

"Eleven tonight would be a good time. Do make sure to bring proper materials."

Jasmine walked off since the party was finally over. She allowed herself the shameless ear to ear grin that showed off all thirty-six teeth she had. Her day just got far more interesting. Her smile became a little less artificial thinking about all the ways her night was going to be the highlight of her day. After spending hours in a restrictive dress and with a bunch of self important fools, she was looking forward to her late appointment. If it wasn't for the fear of ripping her dress, Jasmine would have skipped all the way to her car. Her wallet would be considerably lighter before the night was over, but joy was never cheap.

Hours passed quickly, and Jasmine was driving to the meet up location. Usually she would never have driven herself, but desperate times call for desperate measures. After handing her keys off to a valet, she saw him standing near the gateway. Wearing a hot pink coat open to reveal a fishnet top paired with white jeans. She was sure he got that outfit off an Instagram model. Jasmine kept her walk at a steady pace. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she had developed a rare case of butterflies in her stomach. She really wanted to take a mad dash to him and fall into his arms and rip his clothes like a cliche love story. That, however, would breach several of his policies. He always enforced those rules. He would never budge an inch.

In bed, at least, Shuichi was a demanding lover. Whether or not he was being paid. Jasmine gazed up at the hotel, the Pantherà Suites. In most cases it took weeks or even months to get a reservation, yet here he was making his way in like it was McDonald's. Being the bastard Shuichi was, he didn't involve himself with commercialized sex for the money. He did it for the connections and, most importantly, to satisfy his insatiable lust. In all honesty, his personality would make for a bad spouse for a woman of Jasmine's position; however, his dick was worth a million dollars.

Shuichi's prices were so high since it practically got rid of the task of having to be choosy with his partners. If they were willing to pay a few zeros for a night of fucking then that said quite a lot about them as a person. There was a chance that it wasn't entirely "normal" for someone of good looks and position to pay so much for sex. For some reason, he moved as if he had several lifetimes of experience around a woman's body. Such skill was near impossible to find anywhere else.

Jasmine did a once over of the hotel, making sure it was really secure. After putting her hair up into a high bun, she grabbed for her phone to silence it and then put her sunglasses on. Shuichi had already entered the building, to not be seen together. Walking into the building, Jasmine used the stairs and finally entered her room for the night.

Shuichi was laying down on the bed watching the discovery channel. Interesting. He lazily stared up at her and lazilly patted a spot next to him.

"Good, you came at just the right time. The venus fly trap is going to catch prey," Shuichi said.

Jasmine sighed.

"Why are you so taken by plants? Are they some form of fetish of yours per chance, Shuichi, that I'm unaware of?"Jasmine questioned.

"Would it disturb you if they were?"

"I would be quite entertained by it actually."

"They're a point of interest for me. I haven't explored the sexual potential for them much however."

"Pity."

The documentary was boring, and Jasmine was beginning to lose her patience. She tapped her heels furiously onto the floor, seething at her treatment. Was he so obtuse to not realize how hard this was to plan? Driving out here in the middle of the night like a robber escaping the cops? Exhausted, annoyed, and all the while insufferably horny. Damn him for making her wait until "he was ready" and saying the nonsense "good things come to those who wait" whenever she huffed in exasperation

"If you were a plant, what type would you be?" Shuichi asked, finally taking his attention off the tv and turning to face Jasmine. Resting on two hands while his elbows were propped up by pillows. He even had the audacity to have a expression mixed between curiosity and a heinous amount of smugness.

"I'd be the type of plant that died of wasted time," Jasmine sighed. God, he could annoying.

"Interesting analysis you have made. I think you would be a Trope Bella Dona," Shuichi said.

His eyes had caught a certain flickering, assuring trouble or pleasure. The closest thing to his pose was the "I want to fight or fuck you" look that male models always gave. Shuichi's was quite different. He looked a great deal more sadistic, and, like Jasmine, he never fully expressed emotions.

"Why is that?"

"The plant is known for its beauty; however, it's other alias is the deadly nightshade for its extreme poisonous qualities. You, my dear, are poisonous."

In a flash, Shuichi had sat up and grasped Jasmine's neck. His hold wasn't hard enough to prevent her from breathing; however, it was most surely leaving a bruise on her neck. How was that even humanly possible? A slight tightening from his hand brought Jasmine's attention to the situation at hand. What game was this man playing?

"To my knowledge, if you ate me, you wouldn't die. You would have already been a dead man considering how much you enjoy slurping my pus-" Jasmine said haughtily until his hand tightened again, interrupting her.

Truth be told, she didn't mind choking. Rough sex was amazing with someone you didn't care for. She rubbed her thighs together, feeling a shock that went all the way down her toes while her breath wasn't Shuichi's style though. He never made such moves like this without first suggesting it. Always the biggest on consent and other moral frivolous things of the nature that weren't needed, considering if she wasn't consenting then she wouldn't pay seven figures.

Shuichi leaned in close enough that Jasmine could feel how hot his breath was as it sent shivers down her spine. Perhaps this was a side she hadn't seen from her dear associate. The only disturbing thing about this was she couldn't help but notice the fact that she felt...endangered? The fact that she was even more turned on by that and now surely soaking the bed like a thirteen year old girl discovering masturbation made her blush in shame.

"What is your agenda by coming here tonight?"

"To be fucked."

"I'm not talking about sex anymore. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

Jasmine was blinking rapidly, focusing on his lips only.

"Notice what? That I'm paying you for a task, and you have done nothing but bizarre actions and asked foolish questions all while teasing me. When I _**clearly**_ don't want to be teased," Jasmine barked.

She was grinding down onto his crotch trying to get him hard.

Shuichi removed himself from her completely, since she was clearly not getting the point. He got off the bed and walked a respectable distance from her.

"Clearly I'm going to have to spell it out for you. I know what you did to get your recent achievement. If you think there's any chance of me getting caught up with your burdens then you're deluding yourself," Shuichi replied with ice evident in his tone.

Jasmine had lost any form of arousal and became as rigid as a board.

"What do you mean by that? I'm simply the heiress of the company."

"But were you originally? Wasn't there someone before you who _was_ going to inherit?"

There was no use denying it any longer. He knew and now the only thing to do was negotiate. Greedy bastard. Damn that slippery fox manipulator. She fell down onto the bed as realization hit. She was cursed to be blackmailed for the rest of her life, for the lack of precaution.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Nothing. I don't particularly care what treachery you do. I just want you to know that I can, at any moment, reveal such information. So long as you don't try to involve me, I will have no need to resort to blackmail."

Jasmine stayed still in silence. It took about a minute to fully process what he said, seeing that it was ludicrous. Did he just say that he didn't plan to blackmail her for every dime she was worth? One of the most greatest emotional masterminds wasn't going to rob her? Was this some unique form of insult?

"Is this all you came to say?"

"I find you interesting, Jasmine. You're ruthless and heartless. You, my dear, are truly ruthless. Stopping at nothing to accomplish your objective. You're a monster that not everyone can become."

"Who are you to question my morals? I can imagine you're no better than me. No one understands how hard I worked for this, just to have it taken away from me by a child whose only qualification was being born with a penis!"

"You misunderstood me. I find it quite remarkable, really. It takes true ambition to be able to discard emotions."

"You'll have 138 million in your keeping by friday."

Jasmine stood up and went to grab her coat.

"Then I'll have to do something worth 138 million, won't I?"

"It's just hush money, I-"

Jasmine was silenced by the hand that returned around her throat. The firm pressure had once again returned. Shuichi pushed her back down onto the bed as he straddled her waist. The room was completely dark except for the TV still playing the discovery channel, which had long since been forgotten. He let go of her throat and let his hand trail from her neck to linger around the zipper of the dress.

Jasmine was breathing as if she had just ran a marathon. That bastard was a master of anticipation. There was no way to predict his next move.

" _It is as if we're playing a game of chest, and I have to play blindfolded. Groping around the board for my next move,"_ Jasmine mused.

 _Rrrrrriiiippp_.

Shuichi had ripped a pillow case and was now using it as a blindfold as he wrapped it around her eyes.

"What is this for?" Jasmine asked. She was trying to sound annoyed, but it came out as more of a pant for sweet oxygen.

"The blind see with their hands. Feel free to see anytime."

Putting her hands on the first thing she felt, she grabbed. Shuichi's hair felt like silk in her grasp. She quickly yanked down hard, trying rip it out. He hissed loudly.

"I wouldn't like to see my hair gone. That wasn't very nice, now was it? Is this how you treat your lovers?" Shuichi fumed.

"I wouldn't like to see my hair gone. Obviously, it wasn't meant to tickle. You're being a bit too bold. Who told you that you could choke me when you pleased? A business woman always prefers marks collarbone and below. And is there a specific reason why you're as fast as molasses today? You're paid to be my energetic bunny and act like sex is going out of stock," Jasmine mocked.

"You do realize that was a threat? It wasn't supposed to arouse you; just a minute ago I was telling you that if you tried anything, I'd kill you."

"For a threat that was quite pathetic. If the goal was to scare me, you failed. I just got aroused."

He shook his head. Crazy woman. Simple as that.

Throwing off his jacket along with his shirt, he moved and pulled down her zipper. He grinned; she wasn't wearing anything under her dress. She slipped the straps off her shoulders and threw it to the growing pile of clothes. Jasmine traced her hands against Shuichi's back, going for his hair once again. He weaved out of her grasp, so she went for the next best thing. She traced the line of his spine down to the hem of his pants. She then let them guide her to the buckle of his belt. Fumbling for a moment before she found a way to remove it. Jasmine hurled it above her and heard the large crack.

"I hope you intend to pay for that," Shuichi said.

In reply, she dug into his pants to draw his member out of his pants.

Shuchi hardened slightly when he felt the cool air reach him. Jasmine began sliding down the bed between his legs. She tugged his pants down around his knees, followed with his underwear. He didn't have any time to brace himself when she took his entire length into her mouth.

It wasn't too long until Jasmine felt his hips begin to thrust more rapidly and erratic. He was close.

"Has your preference changed? Do you still prefer to swallow?" Shuichi asked.

Jasmine, considering she had her mouth full at the moment, answered by sucking harder and nodding as best she could.

If it wasn't for the fact that they were in the middle of having sex, he could have laughed at her response. Jasmine looked, dare he say it...cute. She had her mouth full, like a kid stuffing their face with sweets shaking their head and not wasting a moment to eat more food. After finishing that thought, Shuichi decided it was about time to end this blowjob. He came and gave Jasmine a moment to rest.

Jasmine stretched her jaw to relieve the soreness developing in it. She looked up at her current lover seeing what his reaction was. Only to remember she still had on her blindfold. Annoying as it was, for the most part things had been creative to say the least.

"Do we really have to continue with the blindfold? I prefer to see you naked and wanting me," Jasmine said.

"You could always feel me naked and wanting you," Shuichi replied.

Jasmine frowned. That wasn't the same, and she'd had enough of this foreplay.

"I want to see it. I want to see you."

He frowned deeply. He didn't particularly have a strong preference for blindfolds. He just found that the facial performances, so to speak, annoying. It wasn't as if he had a ridiculous and mildly disturbing cum face like the majority of the male population or anything of the sort. Shuichi, over time, just lost most of any form of facial expressions during sex and kept his usual indifferent expression. Jasmine and most women saw this as offensive and thought that he didn't enjoy their body, or they thought that he found them unattractive.

"I assure you that you'll find more pleasure this way."

"I wan-"

Jasmine was interrupted by the pressing of his tongue against her inner thigh. His head delved deeper, and he started to remind her of a puppy and how eagerly they lapped up their master's face. The thought of laughing never crossed her mind from the thought though, since her fist clenched the sheets and she was out of breath immediately. She climaxed within the first few minutes of his devilish mouth, and he removed his mouth from her. There were a few moments of silence and stillness. Jasmine couldn't help but wonder if there was something unpleasant about her that made Shuichi want to stop.

Shuichi had parts of him debating whether or not he should tell her. He disregarded how awkward it was to suddenly stop out of nowhere. He'd found out a very interesting and pleasing tidbit about Jasmine….

Jasmine blushed unknowingly and with a slight hesitation in her tone she asked, "Do I...taste bad?"

He couldn't help but giggle. Shuichi understood where she got the conclusion and also understood how rude this was. The situation was just too funny to not laugh.

"Answer me now and stop laughing, you useless slut!" Jasmine barked.

It probably sounded intimidating and serious to her, but to him it sounded _just_ like a little girl screaming and throwing a tantrum. Her voice went from a cool and icy alto to a high-pitched descant in a matter of seconds. Shuichi kinda felt like a bully stealing her candy. _Candy_. That was the last straw. Losing any form of reserve, Shuichi laughed like he hadn't in years. Mouth gaping, tears leaving his eyes in droves, and his sides hurting.

Jasmine was furious. Regardless of his preference on the types of flavors of his partners, there was no reason to be so rude to her. She sat up and went to shove Shuichi off the bed with her foot, but he caught her leg and then did something strange. He went right back between her legs and moved so vigorously it was as if he was actually trying to eat her. Jasmine finished almost instantly.

Shuichi was careful not to swallow the majority of her essence and sat up to give Jasmine a taste.

When he began kissing her, she got a taste of what he was tasting. To her surprise and delight, it didn't taste bad at all. It tasted quite good actually and familiar. Jasmine thought hard, trying to remember what it tasted like. Shuichi broke the silence with his smooth baritone voice.

"You taste like Skittles. Feel the rainbow and I certainly taste the rainbow," Shuichi deadpanned.

Now it was Jasmine's turn to laugh.

The rest of the night went splendidly. Jasmine let the tension release from her shoulders, her eyes shone with real enjoyment, and the sex felt more like a therapy session than just a satisfaction of carnal needs as she laid with him. She stopped being an actress as she put up her role of acting the perfect respected inheritor and cruel business woman. Jasmine Ito, the tenth predecessor of Ito Corporation, was just like any other woman when she was sleeping with Shuichi. It was different, but nice to say the least. Jasmine wrote the check out to him, leaving it on the small coffee table beside the bed.

Jasmine grabbed her purse and fished out the bra and panties she brought with her. Shuichi looked back at her and didn't even attempt to stifle the chuckle he had. Jasmine was attempting to roll on her underwear with little to no movement. Her back was on the bed, and she hooked the telephone cord to her underwear and was trying to pull it up without raising her arm much.

"Do you need a little assistance?" Shuichi asked, peeking out from the cocoon of covers he'd wrapped around himself.

Jasmine bit her lip, automatically regretting it. They too were sore beyond repair. She opted for something less painful and lightly bit the inside of her cheek instead. She blinked hard, contemplating whether or not to take his help. Jasmine tried once more to pull up her underwear with her makeshift telephone rope. After the overwhelming soreness got to her, she resigned in defeat.

"If it wouldn't be too much of a hassle...Yes, I wouldn't mind you helping me since you can't seem to yourself," Jasmine answered.

Shuichi reclined back in his cover cocoon, unsatisfied with her answer.

"If that's the case, I think I'll go to bed. You can let yourself out. Goodni-"

"Wait! I do need your assistance. I'm a tad rigid."

He began to scoot over towards her edge of the bed. Just as Jasmine saw him rise to help her, the redhead laid his annoying ass right back down near her thigh. He tilted his chin up, eyes wide like he was some snot-nosed brat.

"Well if you're just _rigid,_ it would be good to do some light stretching. Putting on your own undergarments would be a good easy warm up."

Jasmine rolled her eyes and huffed. No reason to try and hold onto pride now. The sadist was right there and watching her discomfort.

"Shuichi, will you just help me? You hindered my ability to walk and, well, do most of anything. I'm sore all over from...your administrations."

"I wasn't aware we were at church, Jasmine. Say it in less clean terms and, out of the kindness of my heart, I may help you."

Shuichi had an almost impish smirk on now.

"You fucked me silly. You moved your dick like a bullet train. It was so fat, big, and juicy that if I hadn't been so wet I would have been split in two. You licked, sucked, and touched every inch of me. I can't move without reminders of how you royally owned my body. I can't feel my legs. I'm going to need an ice pack for my poor vagina. Now help me you arrogant, sadist slut who lives for my embarrassment."

"I wouldn't go as far to say that I live for your suffering. I do, however, certainly enjoy seeing a classy business woman like yourself speak as if you were a pornstar."

If Jasmine had the strength, she would have slapped him. He was so cheeky. No other prostitute would ever call their client a pornstar.

He got up, slipped her panties on, buckled up her bra, and zipped up her dress in a matter of a few seconds. Shuichi helped her stand up, careful to not put excess strain on any one place. Once Jasmine was fully balanced, she pulled out her phone from her purse. She handed the small iphone to him.

"What do you want? Do you want me to get a driver?" Shuichi questioned.

Jasmine shook her head. Not making any moves to retrieve her phone, it remained in his grasp.

"If you don't consider it breaking any of your rules and if you wouldn't mind, I'd like your contact information. It would be very advantageous if I didn't have to find you through the grapevine when I'm in need of your services."

Shuichi typed in his number and called to get her number. He handed back her phone, and Jasmine turned around to leave. Shuichi's voice stopped her.

"Hold on. I'll walk you out to your car. You never know what type of low level thugs might be lurking around here at night. Especially since you're going to have to wait to get your valet parking since they go inside around twelve."

Jasmine raised her hand in protest, but he was already dressed before she could utter out a word. He opened the door for her, and she waddled with haste. This time he didn't feel the need to tease and for that she was grateful. The entire world didn't need to know she just had sex. Shuichi was walking about a foot or so behind Jasmine without making any noise. They reached the elevator and went down to the back of the building. Leaving through the back door, they headed to the valet parking and called the lobby to get one of the parkers out there.

"You can go back to your room. I see the parker now," Jasmine said.

"I'll wait until I see you off," Shuichi replied.

The small man came up with the car, slightly disheveled with sleep still on his face. The man stepped out the car and handed Shuichi the keys, without any form of identification he wasn't careful, he would get fired for such a thing.

The man came and went quickly. Shuichi went to the side of the small Prius and looked through both the front seat and the back seat. He went over to Jasmine and gently pulled her until she was about twenty feet behind the car, then he clicked the car open.

"Why so precautious? Are you expecting something to happen?" Jasmine questioned, her voice laced with concern.

He shook his head, removing his arm from her waist.

"No, but one can never be too safely. Goodnight or, in this case, good morning," he said.

Jasmine stood still, breaking into a cold sweat. A thousand thoughts began to race through her mind in a matter of seconds. What Shuichi saw was her standing there with her mouth gaping, dead eyes, and her legs began to shake as if they were going to give out.

"There's nothing to concern yourself about. It's just a force of habit I developed when I involved myself with a mystery action movie. I had to rewrite everything so many times, so I found myself adapting the habits of a fictional FBI agent," Shuichi assured.

In truth, he was lying like a dog. Shuichi was always perfect; he always had been, and always would be perfect. After going to Broadway immediately after highschool, Shuichi dominated the industry. Some of his most referenced films he involved himself in was the Dark Knight trilogy. The movie was so legendary that even the tragedy of the shooting didn't put a damper on the greatness of it. Mistakes were deadly no matter what line of business you involved yourself in. A lesson that made him grind his teeth when he thought of how life had taught him that lesson.

Jasmine believed Shuichi. That didn't put a damper on the way her legs quivered. What if someone bugged the room they were in? She had said far too much. Fuck. What if Shuichi wasn't going to blackmail her since he had already sold her out? Her entire career would be over before it even truly started. All of her work would go down the drain for a night of simple reprieve. Her eyes began to haze, and she started seeing spots. Jasmine shut her eyes, and she felt the weight of the world lift off her shoulders.

Shuichi caught Jasmine before she fell face first onto the concrete. He put a hand over her heart and felt the rapid beating of it begin to slow. Shuichi felt her head to check if she had a temperature. She had none, but she was sweating buckets. Shuichi fiddled with the keys in his hands. He could take her to the hospital. He imagined the flashing of the paparazzi, the hushed murmurs of countless business partners, and speculations as to why the pair was seen together. Quickly, he killed the thought. Thinking quickly, Shuichi pulled Jasmine into the car. If he was seen with an unconscious woman in his arms, that would lead him into a shit storm. Shuichi drove off, not having any specific place in mind.

Thank goodness for intelligence. Before they left, he retrieved his suit. From a pink jacket and white pants to a black suit. Shuichi grabbed a clip-on tie and a chauffeur hat on his way out. No one would ever think to zoom in on just another butler, in case the paparazzi did mob them.

While on the road, he reached for Jasmine's purse. Fishing out her purse from her side, he grabbed her phone. His mother always warned him never to text and drive. He, however, had a rare talent. He could move his eyes individually. So, he placed one eye on the road and the other on Jasmine's phone. Shuichi made quick work of her password. He guessed her password would be her graduation year. He scrolled through her contacts, seeing if any of them seemed particularly close. After a quick scan, Shuichi discovered all of the contacts were just initials with numbers. He sighed, putting her phone back in her purse.

He had a thousand different solutions. The most reasonable of them all, however, was the one he resented the most.

Shuichi drove in to a nearby empty parking lot. He ran his hand through his hair and put on chapstick.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," Shuichi whispered.

He gently grabbed Jasmine's chin to angle her head. Shuichi gently parted her lips with his own. A simple chaste kiss. That would be their first and last kiss that didn't quickly turn into something more.


End file.
